On November 4th, I planted my Midgarden garlic. I had prepared the bed a few weeks earlier by cleaning out the weeds and spreading two inches of compost over the top. No, I do not work it into the soil. I practise the no-dig method.
I estimated between 33 and 44 cloves from the 11 bulbs I had harvested in August (see the post: Garlic Update for 2021). However, I was shocked to have 71 cloves. That’s an average of 6.45 cloves per bulb. I knew the bulbs were big, but I had no idea I’d get more than four cloves from each.
Doing the math, this indicates I may get 458 cloves to plant in the fall of 2022.
In my note about sustainability in the future in the post In the Garden: Growing Garlic where I shared the start of my garlic journey, I estimated I’d have 99 cloves to plant in 2022. That’s about 350 less than what I may actually have. I knew my guess was conservative, but this is incredible.
Autumn was mild and on the day I planted this garlic, it was sunny and plus 10 degrees Celsius. Nights were cooling off, reaching between 0 and 5 degrees.
On November 6th, I planted Mexican Purple garlic. From the four bulbs I harvested this summer, I got about 60 cloves. Some were small, so I planted only 33 of the largest ones. The extra went into the kitchen.
On November 8th, I planted Chesnock Gourmet garlic. From the six bulbs I harvested this summer, I got another 60 or so cloves. I planted 30 of the largest ones, and the rest went to the kitchen.
Last week, I raked maple leaves from our lawn and spread a thick layer of them over the garlic beds. Then I cut boughs from our mammoth juniper tree I hadn’t pruned recently and laid those over the leaves to keep them in place.
With the garlic tucked in for the winter, it completes the final task for the gardening season this year. I’d consider this growing season a success. I’m well on my way to becoming the organic Garlic Queen of New Scotland.
Diane McGyver 